The temporal trend of microbial isolates from blood cultures of inpatients hospitalized during the last four calendar years (2005 to 2008), was evaluated according to the main bacterial and fungal isolates. The same pathogens cultured more than once from the same patient within one month, have been considered only once.

A prospective microbiological monitoring is expected to significantly add to the awareness of local epidemiological figures and antimicrobial sensitivity profile of hospital infections, including bacteremias, which are responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality rates among inpatients. Although the main ethiological agents of inpatient bacteremias are still represented by coagulase-negative Staphylococci, these microorganisms significantly declined during the four-year study period, thus confirming a positive trend toward a progressively reduced incidence of contaminated blood cultures. On the other hand, an appreciable increased frequency occurred over time for Pseudomonas and Klebsiella spp. A major, persisting role as agents of hospital bacteremic episodes is still exerted by Escherichia coli among Gram-negative pathogens, and Staphylococcus aureus among Gram-positive ones.